A variety of bike carriers are in existence including those which mount on the top of vehicles (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,884,824 and 4,702,401) and those which are fixed by way of straps secured to the vehicle body itself (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,215,233; 5,038,980 and 4,875,608). Additionally there are bike carriers which are mounted on trailer hitches (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,497,927; 5,377,886 and 5,025,932) or on vehicle bumpers (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,269,446 and 4,815,638). A review of the prior art devices reveals that they suffer from a variety of drawbacks such as not being highly versatile in accepting a variety of bike types, being difficult to assemble or install, not being versatile relative to different types of vehicles, not providing for secure attachment during transit and/or not being well suited for precluding theft of a bike from a carrier.